June 25, 2005

Soundtraxx Tsunami First Look

Buy Soundtraxx Tsunami

At last we now have some tangible evidence that Tsunami is real! On Friday May 13 we received a pre-production Steam Tsunami for evaluation. We wired up and began testing immediately ... wouldn't you?

Here are some brief observations, we will do a comprehensive review and post in the near future.

Overall, the unit is impressive.

The Hyper Drive (BEMF) is smooth and steady and the feedback provided for the load responsive chuff (Exhaust) adds yet another notch to sound decoder realism. No other DCC sound decoders have this load responsive chuff (Exhaust) feature.

Using a combination of CVs and 2 1.25" dia speakers we could match volumes of comparable QSI equipped locos. The potential volume output of the Tsunami is considerably greater than its predecessor, the DSD 150.

There are plenty of CVs for specific volume and equalizer control of all the various sound effects.

For example:

The volume output of the Tsunami can be increased significantly by changing certain sets of CVs. CV 145 has 6 preset equalizer curves that you can choose from, going from tiny speaker to boom box, or by using CVs 146-152 you can customize the sound of your decoder, as this group of CVs act as a 7-band equalizer.

CVs 169-180 let you customize the “Digital Dynamic Exhaust,” allowing you to change how responsive the chuff sound is to different motor loading conditions, so it can sound like it’s working hard when it’s pulling a long train up a steep grade, or coasting as it goes downhill.

There are individual CVs to set the volume of each of the sound effects, and Soundtraxx has wisely kept those the same as are used on their low cost decoders (120 to 127). CV 128 is the master volume control CV, and CVs 129-144 set the volumes of the secondary sounds, such as coupler clank, brake squeal, and water stop.

Finally, according to Soundtraxx, if all the pre-production testing goes well, production would come in several weeks thereafter!

Keep your fingers crossed!